Loving Chaiyaphum

Also! – We’ve been teaching English to a few schools here in Chaiyaphum.  My team is staying with Ram, her husband Nun, their daughter Esther and Ram’s parents Pa and Mae.  It is a paradise here!  The weather is perfect, Ram and Nun are the best cooks, and the type of ministry we’re doing we get see the fruits of our labor right away.  It feels so great to have 30 eager, shining faces wanting desperately to learn a skill that will give them an advantage in the work force.  The director’s of both schools we taught at this week told us they only get to practice English when they have foreigners visit, which isn’t often. 

We also have had some great down time.  I’ve gotten to ride an elephant, observe a Buddhist funeral ceremony, explore a Buddhist temple, play with local kids and have impromptu English lessons, lots of time exploring our small village, picked up Thai phrases, helped build a fence, and everyone on my team spends time tending to baby Esther so Ram and Nun can do the constant work it takes to maintain a household when you do EVERYTHING yourself.  Village life is incredible.  It’s also incredible how your idea of wealth changes when your basic needs are met, and every night is spent with grandpa Pa singing us girls to sleep with Thai worship songs.

In exchange for us teaching English for free at the schools, we’re allowed to call an assembly at the close of the school day and talk about Jesus.  It’s unnerving.  Ram translates and the kids are respectful, but the saying in Thailand is “to be Thai is to be Buddhist”.  Which is accurate with 94% Buddhist 5% Muslim and 1% Christian.  I’m not overwhelmed though – God has brought us to this country, in this small village for a reason.  The kids saw us, played with us and listened to us and you can’t help but wonder what seeds have been planted. 

Of course my overwhelming need to be ‘cool teacher’ took over at the end of every class I taught, so I thought it’d be fun to teach these incredibly polite, well behaved Thai children an American slang.  I taught them to say “Peace out!!” instead of “Good afternoon teacher!”  Much to the teacher’s chagrin, there are about 300 kids running around flashing peace signs screaming PEACE OUT TEACHER PEACE OUT!  Yeah Thailand!  Alison was here!